Moon Struck
by Storyjumper
Summary: Mercy gets a call from Ben Shaw; werewolf. He apparently has found a child who needs the packs help, and this child holds a lot more secrets than the average nine-year old. Follows after Silence Fallen.
1. Chapter 1

I was just finishing buttoning up Sheba; a VW Bug, when my phone rang. I let it go to voicemail only because I was covered from fingertips to elbows in grease. But by the time I grabbed a rag and wiped off the lion share of motor oil and grease the phone rang again. I picked it up and answered,

"Hello?"

"Mercy, I need help." The nifty British accent told me it was Ben, but I pulled the phone away and double checked the caller ID just to be sure because the voice was a little panicked.

Ben and I got along alright, but he didn't like to ask for help so for him to call meant he really needed help. But what I could do that he couldn't I couldn't say. Being Ben was a werewolf and I was only a shifter so it couldn't be something strength wise. I had only a little more strength than a regular human. It wasn't until I listened closer to the background noise that I was able to guess. There was soft sobbing that sounded like a child and woman's voice saying soothing things to the boy.

Ben generally didn't get along with other people. I believed that was in partly due to something nasty in his past coupled with bad experiences once he because a werewolf. My first thought was that Ben might have hurt a kid, but I disregarded that thought almost as soon as I thought of it. He might have little regard for people outside of our pack; women especially, but I didn't think he would go out and hurt a child. Which lead me to think the child was super natural of some kind.

"Is the child Fae?"

"No."

I sighed in relief. We did not need to take on more problems from the Fae. I may have taken on the Fae's wrath a few months back when I had agreed to take in a human boy who had been trapped in Underhill. The boy in question; Aidan, hadn't actually been a boy for several hundred years, and now had the power over fire. But that meant the boy was either like me; a walker, or he was a werewolf.

"Wolf?"

"Yes"

Jumping moons, I thought, "How old?"

"Not sure, he's pretty shook up. Can't get a hold of Adam."

"Alright, where are you? I'll have Tad close up. Anything else I should know?"

"I'm at work, and yes."

The fact that he didn't elaborate meant that he didn't want his co-worker to know. To the best of my knowledge Ben was an open secret at his job. Some people knew he was a werewolf and some people thought it was a joke.

"Alright, I'll be there shortly."

"Thank you." There was true relief in his voice as he hung up.

"Tad, I'm heading out, can you call Nick and let him know Sheba is up and running again and close up?"

"Sure." Tad was my tool monkey and front desk worker now that he was back from collage and no longer obliged to stay the reservation. Fae reservation. Tad was half Fae and son of my mentor Zee. Zee was a cranky old metal smith who had originally ran my shop until I bought from him after the higher ups of the Fae; Gray Lords, had forced him to admit his existence. "Make sure you call Adam."

I grunted unhappily. It still itched that I had to tell people where I was going, but after having been kidnapped by vampires and nearly being killed on half a dozen different occasions I had to concede that is was safer. I called Adam as I was grabbing my purse out of the safe. I got his voicemail and left a brief message explaining what I knew. Then I tossed the phone and bag in the passenger seat of the Vanagon. From the shop I began my trip into the city.

The Tri-Cities was known to be the home to a number of agencies in the alphabet soup. My understanding was Ben was a computer tech for one of them. Thankfully he had sent me the address so it didn't take long to get there. I parked in the guest parker and walked up to the front door. I was about to go to the front desk when a quiet almost childlike voice said,

"Mercy."

I turned and saw a petite woman who was pretty and tiny. She was vaguely familiar to me and I couldn't place her at first.

"I'm Melinda, Mel, the secretary for the BDA," she said it as if I should know her.

Then I remembered, this woman had issues; being the nice word for it, with a man who was higher up in the company harassing her. Ben had come to her rescue, and had called me when he had realized what the man had planned. She and that incident was part of the reason Ben was moving up in the pack. He was becoming a protector, not a predator.

"Yes, Ben called me."

She bobbed her head up and down, gestured for me to follow her, and lead me through the building to the stairs. Down we descended until we came to what had to be the basement. It was a large room that was divided into a bunch of small cubicles. The first one was missing two walls and smelled like Mel, suggesting this is where she worked. The clicking sound of keyboards filled the air and seemed to still as I walked into the room. I felt the weight of several people's regard on me even though I didn't see them right away. Mel pointed down the cramped hallway to one of the few rooms on the back end of the room.

"His office is at the end of the hall."

I nodded my thanks and walked to the open door. Outside hanging on the wall was a small white board with the words, _I see you, let me finish and I will be with you. If you talk before then I will not be helpful._ The sign looked like it had been erased and rewritten a few times. I looked at the mat in front of the door with amusement. There were shoe prints traced on the mat with, _wait here_ , written below them. I stepped on them and looked into Ben's office.

It was full of various computers, papers, books, and other computer related materials. But I was more concerned with the smell that was coming from the room. Musk and mint; what I associate with werewolf, and fear. Ben turned his comfy office chair towards me and I saw the werewolf in question. He was small tussled brown hair, pale skin dusted with light freckles, his eyes were a light green. His clothes were nice enough, a sweater of a wine color that would keep out the cold of the night and study blue jeans. However when I looked closer I saw his clothes had smudges of dirt on them as if he had tripped and fallen. The boy's eyes were looking at me, but not in the eye, submissive, something in the back of my mind whispered. I noticed the way the boy seemed to cling to Ben's shirt as if he was terrified Ben would disappear if he let go.

I couldn't help be see a resemblance to another stray werewolf I had helped. Thought this boy was nowhere near Mac's age. If this boy was older than ten I'd eat my hat. Something in my gut twisted. How young had he been turned? What had happened to his family? All things I needed to know.

"Hello," I whispered softly so as not to startle him. "I'm Mercy. Did Ben tell you about me?"

The boy nodded.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Evan."

"Well Evan, will you be willing to come with me. I can take you someplace safe." For him, for the humans around him.

Evan gripped Ben's sleeve tighter.

"It's alright Evan. You can trust her. Mercy takes care of people."

Now Evan looked at my face. He was careful not to look me in the eye, but he was assessing me and whether or not to trust me. Then he nodded, but he didn't let go of Ben or make any move to come closer to me.

"Come on, I'll take you to my home, then we can find your family."

I saw the unmistakable look of crushing loss in his eyes, he made a quiet keening sound that might have been a cry or a sob. I had the feeling that we would be looking for bodies. I just hoped it wasn't Evan who had done the killing. Ben leaned over the arm of the chair and scooped up Evan and hugged him gently. He held the boy until he stopped making the sound. He looked at me and mouthed,

"I'll come with you."

I nodded, and promised myself that the person who had done this to a child was going to pay.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take us long to reach my house. Thankfully, my step daughter, Jess was out with friends; supervised by a werewolf guard of course. Apparently my kidnapping this latest time had really paranoid my mate. Aiden, the fire touched boy we had adopted, was at Darryl (the pack's second) and Auriele's house being tutored by Auriele. While Lucia Arocha; our packs accountant, and her husband Joel; pronounced Hoel, a Tibicena; don't ask, were out on date. Leaving only the Arocha's pet dog, Cookie, and my cat Medea in the house. Which was for the best really if I was bringing a young werewolf home.

Evan trailed behind Ben like a sad puppy as they approached my home. Ben for his part hovered protectively close to the boy, providing reassurance to him. I'm not even certain Ben even noticed he was doing it. I led them into the living and sat down on one of the comfortable chairs. Evan curled up on the couch opposite from me and Ben plopped down beside him.

"Can you tell me what happened Evan?"

Light green eyes rose to my face, but avoided my eyes. He opened his mouth to reply when his nose twitched and his mouth closed. I saw the question rise to his eyes, a question that many people have asked me. He opened his mouth to ask the question.

"No, I'm not a werewolf," I answered before he could ask. I almost felt bad when his eyes widened to the size of saucers and the smell of his fear sharpened. "I'm not a Jedi or Fae. No mind tricks for me. I just get asked that question a lot."

Evan's fear lessened to a tolerable level that didn't leave Ben twitching. The child gave me a wary smile at the Star Wars reference. Then he nodded as if he understood the truth of my words. Then he began his story

"My mom and I were coming home from my lessons. She smelled the blood first. It was coming from several of our neighbor's apartments." He started shaking. "She told me to wait by the car and if things seemed bad I was to run. My mom promised she'd find me if that happened." Gingerly he touched his shoulder as if it pained him. "I heard the gunshots and felt her pain." His fist clenched against his shoulder, I bet it was the same shoulder his mom had been shot in. "She told me to run, and I did." His shame and frustration was strong enough to smell. I was pretty sure if he had stayed to help he'd have been hurt, his mom would have been driven to protect him and she would have been hurt worse.

I fought the urge to comfort him. There were things about his story that had red flags in my mind. First, his story meant he had been changed before this incident; maybe by his mom. Second, he, a young wolf and his mother had been living in the Tri-Cities, under the packs nose, and no one had noticed. That was hard to manage without help. Everything Evan said was the truth. I could taste it in his words, but who knew better than me that telling the truth wasn't the same as the whole honest truth. I glanced at Ben to see if he had caught, but was more focused on Evan's distress than his words.

"So you weren't changed recently?"

The question surprised him. "No."

Truth.

Evan's stomach growled loudly across the silence. The first rule to living with a werewolf was to never starve them. My foster mother was fond of adding, 'or he might ask you to stay for dinner'. She always said that before she gave her husband; a werewolf, a loving look. I gave Ben a pointed look and he got up and went to the kitchen to make Evan some food. Once Ben was gone Evan's fear came sliding back. It was almost as distressing to me as it was to Ben, who made a choked sound in the kitchen. Until a soft sound came from under Evan's couch, startling us both.

The poor boy jumped a little as Medea, my Manx cat, crawled out from under the couch with a meow. She looked at me with silted eyes first then she turned her gaze on Evan. I'm not sure what the boy made of my cat, but I knew she had sized him up as fair game. Medea was kind of an oddball, anyone powerful she considered her minion and thus was required to pet her. She flowed off the floor and right into Evan's lap, purring before he could even object. The silly cat stuck her nose almost in his ear and purred at him demanding he pet or scratch her. Evan stared at the cat, he was stunned and awed by my tailless cat.

"You have to pet her now." I informed him. "She won't leave you be unless you chase her off."

Tentatively Evan reached up and scratched my cat behind her ears. That brought her purring up a notch. "I've never heard of a cat that could stand our kind."

"I don't think anyone has." I could have kissed my cat. Slowly Evan's fear evaporated as Medea purred and nuzzled him. I schooled my expression so I could ask the questions that needed to be asked. "Evan I'm sorry, but I need to ask more questions about the incident."

He nodded.

"Do you think the attack was aimed at you a werewolf?"

He bit his lip and thought about it. "I don't know."

Truth, but some instinct told me it wasn't the full truth. "Was there anything that stood out to you? A car, someone you didn't recognize, a smell."

He thought about it and nodded slowly. "I smelt three human males I hadn't smelt before, and there was some kind of magic in the air."

His words had me sitting up a little straighter. For a new werewolf sorting through scents and finding important ones; especially when there were so many scents to sort through, was very difficult. An apartment building would have a lot of scents intermingled from all the people who lived there both past and present.

"You wouldn't happen to know what kind of magic?" I knew from experience that the different sources of magic have different smells, and from the look on Evan's face he had more than a passing experience with magic. Interesting.

"I can say for sure it is not witch magic, white or dark, I've never been around vampires so I can't say if it was there magic or not. Fae," he paused and was very thoughtful. "It didn't really feel like it Fae. It felt like werewolf magic, but thicker, denser than that. Some Fae have magic that is like our magic. So I can't say for certain." He shrugged. "I don't really have a pack so I can't say for sure if it's one or another, but I think it was one of those two if not a combination of both."

I watched Evan carefully. He had told me a lot and nothing about the question I had asked. Most werewolves don't learn to discern the different types of magic until they are much older or are regularly around magic. This child knew more than the average wolf. It was this more than anything else that made me ask,

"How old are you, Evan?"

"Ten."

Truth, "How long have you been ten?"

He gave me a half smile. "I was born ten years ago. I'm not Fae or anything other than werewolf."

The truth of his words temporarily stopped my train of thought, but not for long. "Who taught you how to be a werewolf and about magic?"

"My mom." Even a human would have hear the pride in Evan's voice.

His mother again, then I remembered him saying that his mom had smelted the blood first. "Is your mom the one who changed you?" It fit. If his mom had come home after being attacked and then attacked her son when the first full moon forced the change they both could be werewolves.

A plate smashed in the kitchen. It was hard to tell if Ben had dropped it or if he had crushed it. But if the anger coming down the pack bonds was anything to go by, I'd say he crushed it. Evan got startled by the sound while answering so I missed it when he answered at first. But he repeated more firmly, and this time looking at me,

"My mom did not change me. How I was changed doesn't really matter in the long run." He held himself up straighter. "What matters is my mom. Can your pack help me find her? Can we rest here while we try to figure out what happened?"

For someone so young, he was very well spoken. I let out a small sigh as Ben came back into the room with a plate laden with a massive steak sandwich. He sat down next to Evan and handed the boy the plate.

"As it happens, a while back I made a declaration that our pack would protect our territory and those in it. Including anyone who asked for protection." I didn't add within reason. "So long as you do not harm anyone in the pack or under the pack's protection and you follow the leaders in the pack. I will introduce you to them later. Yes, you may stay and we will help you find your mom then protect you guys." Chances were Adam would bring them into the pack. It was actually really weird that there was a female and a child outside of pack.

Relief made Eva sag into the seat. Ben grabbed the plate to prevent the boy from dropping it on Medea until Evan gained enough presence of mind to hold it without dropping it.

"Eat." I told him and made it command. Evan didn't even blink before falling on his food ravenous.


	3. Chapter 3

I spent the rest of the next hour hovering close to Evan and occasionally asking questions. Most of the questions he answered very plainly, but there were a few like, who changed you, that he seemed to skirt. The more I tried to ask about it the closed up he became and it made me wonder. It seemed like the kind of thing he had be drilled to hide, because a few times he seemed on the verge of saying something, but then wouldn't. After the third time of trying to delve into his past I got a phone call.

Adam.

"Hey-,"

"Are you alright?"

I got up and walked outside. Ben would watch Evan while I talked to Adam. "I'm fine." I tried not to sound exasperated, but didn't really work.

"I felt Ben's anger."

"Yeah, I think this wolf reminds him a little of himself."

"Tell me about the wolf."

I bit back the growl I would have made at his command. It was only Adam's soft chuckled that made decide to tell him. "His name is Evan. He's apparently been a wolf a while, so is his mother."

"Is the mother there now?"

"No."

There was silence for a long time. "Not sure if that is good or not."

"Why?"

"We aren't like normal wolves, Mercy. Especially if we are crazy. I've heard stories of females who managed to carry to term. They aren't pleasant."

"I thought females couldn't."

"Unless they become wolf for the majority of the pregnancy."

"Oh." Oh shit is more like it. The longer a werewolf spends in wolf shape the more likely they are to lose it and go berserk. Most can spend a couple days no problem, but weeks or month in that shape and the wolf gets stronger and eventually goes all fang and no brain. I remembered vividly what had happened when Samuel had had to stay in his wolf form for long. It started slowly at first but there had been moments when he had come close to eating me. I took a deep breath and remembered some of what Evan said. "I get the feeling his mom was functioning just fine though. She was apparently driving them home from some kind of practice. Which she wouldn't have been able to do if the wolf was in charge. Evan told me she scented blood and told him to wait while she went in to check it out. He was to run if something happened. Something did happen. I think she was shot and he ran. He's pretty upset about that."

Adam listened and seemed to think. After a moment he asked, "What do your instincts tell you?"

"The boy and his mom definitely need help." I chewed on my lip, I didn't say but, however Adam seemed to hear it.

"But?" He prompted.

"I don't think he's being entirely honest either. There are little things that don't quite add up. He's very well spoken and there's something that makes me think he maybe not knows more than he's telling, but he has a guess. It almost feels like he was expecting something to happen or that this has happened before. He was definitely afraid, but he handled it too well. No normal ten year old handles what he's been through and isn't sobbing on the floor. They had a plan if something went wrong. Him and his mom. Maybe like most werewolves they are paranoid." At my not so subtle dig Adam laughed as I had intended him to.

"But you don't think so?"

"No." I hesitated. "I don't think they've lived here for very long a few months, but no more than a year. It's just not possible that two werewolves would hide from pack as large as ours. Someone would have scented them."

"You think they had help hiding?"

"Possibly, either that or his mom part Fae, but I don't think so."

"What about the boy's father?"

"I get the feeling he isn't in the picture. Evan made no mention of him in the story, and it sounded like there is no reason to. He's been gone or dead long enough that his lack of presences is normal."

Adam growled at that. For Adam the idea of abandoning a child was abhorrent. Part of that was how he was raised, but the other part is that he an Alpha. That means everyone is under his protection and thus his responsibility; even if they don't ask or tell him very pointedly not to.

"How about his control?"

It was a deliberate distraction from what was making him angry and I let him. "Better than some wolves who have been wolves for years."

Adam grunted. "You said he's ten?"

"Yeah."

Adam sighed and I could almost see him run his hands through his hair in agitation. "I'll be there shortly. Try not to push him, even if his control seems alright."

"I'm not worried about him. He's submissive."

"What?"

"Evan, he's a sub. I'm more worried Ben's going to go looking for Evan's mom. Evan has brought out the wolf's instinct to protect." Heck even I felt the need to protect this boy even if I thought he wasn't telling the full truth.

"Mercy be very careful. If his mom is even remotely dominate and she finds you guys after she has been injured she's not likely going to be in her right mind. She will act to protect her pack and her son."

"I will." I could almost feel my husband's fear as we hung up. I knew he would speed all the home just to make sure we were safe. I stuck my phone in pocket and took one wary look around. Part of me worried that a crazy wolf was going to appear out of nowhere and attack. That would be my luck. With a sigh I went back inside. Evan had finished his food and curled up on the couch around Medea. Ben sat on the couch beside him a pondering look on his face.

"Careful, you might end up becoming a good man if you keep thinking like that."

He snorted and glanced at the kid and the cat snuggled together. "You think his mom is crazy?" Ben wanted her to be, but I wasn't sure he realized how angry he was for Evan.

"No," I watched Ben's face carefully. "I think both of them are victims."

Ben looked like he was going to say something in his usual colorful language, but he thought better of it. "Why?"

"I suppose that depends on what you are asking why about."

He growled. "Why would someone change a child?"

"To control his mother." It would be a good thing for Ben to view Evan's mom as a victim. We really couldn't afford for him to attack her when she came looking for her son. When not if, I realized that chances were good that Evan's mom was alive, and she would track her son. Straight to Ben's work. "Ben, call the security at your work."

He swore pulled out his phone and called someone. The spoke very briefly.

"Don't let them try to detain a woman who walks in and walks out. She will follow her son's scent and know he's not there."

He relayed what she told him to the other person on the line. Then he paled.

"Someone like that has already come through? She just left?"

I heard the affirmative from the other end.

Ben swore, "Can you get me her picture off the building camera's?"

Again there was a affirmative answer, the man on the other end offered send the picture over to him. After a few moments Ben's phone chimed announcing that he had gotten a message. The man asked if they should be worried and Ben almost politely refused.

"Has to do with the kid that came and hid in lobby. We think she's his mom."

"Do you want me to go after her and give her information?"

"No." I practically jumped out of my chair and Evan got startled awake.

"You heard that," Ben asked the guy on the other end.

"Yep. Werewolf stuff?"

"Probably."

"Don't die." Then the man hung up without waiting for a response. I raised my eyebrows at Ben from the man's reaction. Ben shrugged, apparently I'm very entertaining to the security team.

"I just bet you are."

Ben grinned with too much teeth before turning to Evan. "Do you recognize this woman?" He showed the boy the picture that had been retrieved from the security camera's. Evan's shoulders slumped and relief flashed in his eyes. He nodded.

"That's my mom."


	4. Chapter 4

The woman in the picture had Evan's brown hair. It fell in little waves over half of her face. But I was pretty sure she was in pain even with only being able to see half her face. I noted the long black coat she wore. It wouldn't have been out of place in this weather, and would serve a side benefit of hiding her injury from any humans, or just anything that couldn't smell blood. She was also wearing a decent pair of jeans and sneakers. This gave her to over all appearance of an average Jane if a person was paying attention. Appearances, I remembered, could be very misleading.

"Evan, what's your mom's name?"

The kid blinked as if he had to think about it. "Abigail." Truth.

I suppose it possible many kids would have to think about their parents first name if they called them mom or dad, but my intuition said Evan was bit too smart for that. I didn't say what was on my mind, but I did glance at Ben. This time he seemed to have caught it as well.

"Well the good news is she walked away from whatever happened at your house. Unless she had a reason to be at Ben's work other than looking for you?"

He didn't even seem to hear everything I said, the immense relief that just having confirmation that his mom had survived drowned out my question. His limbs went limp under him. Ben moved protectively close to Evan and glanced at me like he was wondering if I had broken Evan.

"Where is she? Is she still hurt?" His fear came racing back. The kind of fear that comes from the realization that you're in a very unkind world and you might even be utterly alone.

"I don't know." It was the truth. "The picture was taken at Ben's work. To me that tells me that your mom is tracking you. You don't happen to have umber I can reach her at, do you?" I probably should have thought to ask sooner, but I admit I might have been distracted by very young werewolf and all the problems that brings along with it.

Evan shook his head no. "We don't have cell phones. My mom says they've cost her before."

"Is there anyone else who your mom might contact looking for you? A friend who would know how to get a hold of her, someone she'd listen to." And trust enough to listen before attacking if she was afraid for her son.

Evan thought about it for a moment, then he nodded slowly. "Mom doesn't really have any friends, she doesn't trust a whole lot, but there is someone. She calls him asking for news, I think he might even help her occasionally, but they argue a lot. Or he tells her what to do and then she ignores him. Bran. Bran Cornwick or something like that."

"Bran Cornick," I suggested. How many Brans could there be that would talk to a werewolf? And if Evan had only been paying half attention to the conversations his mom was having it would be an easy mistake to make with Bran's last name.

I could see Ben's eyes go wide and he muttered something that sounded like, 'fucking shit'.

"Yeah, that sounds right." He looked between me and Ben suspicious of our reactions. "How do you guys know him?"

"Do you know who he is?"

Evan shrugged, "Not really. Mom sends me to my room when she talks to him. It seems like their old friends except they fight a lot. He tries to tell mom what to do and she isn't happy when he does. For a while I thought he might be my dad."

I choked. Oh God!

Evan smiled sheepishly. "That was mom's reaction too when I asked her. I think she added that she would sooner become a nun; whatever that is."

I coughed and Ben was trying very hard to control laughter that was shaking his entire body. I suddenly really liked this woman. But then I came to new realization that wiped the smile right off my face. Bran had probably helped hide a wolf and her wolf son in our territory and it seemed he was also hiding them from us. But the question was, why? Bran like most werewolves was old and controlling, but he was the leader. If he was hiding an unmated lone wolf female and her child from the packs there would be a riot. Werewolves had not left the medieval period. Maybe it was time I called the man himself to get answers.

"I'm going to make a call."

Ben and Evan didn't seem to be listening to me because they were engrossed in a conversation about the Marrock. So I got up and went back outside. Once the door was shut behind me I dialed Bran's cell. The man himself picked up on the second ring.

"Mercy."

"Why would you allow an unmated to become a lone wolf?"

"Females can't become lone wolves."

"Odd, there is a werewolf child here, about ten years old, that says his mom; a wolf by the name of Abigail, has been in contact with you. He also says he has no pack. Funny enough I don't smell lies on him. And I struggle to believe that you had no idea about any of this."

There was a long pause of silence. Too long. "I can put thoughts into people's minds, but you know I can't take them out." Another very long pause. "What did the child say exactly about Abigail?"

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. An uneasy feeling slowly crept into my mind. I breathed, "You didn't know she had a son."

"Werewolves can't have children."

"So Charles is a werefox huh?"

"Charles is a result of magic," Bran's voice did that scary thing he went from sounding harmless geek to overlord of werewolves in less than a breath. I decided a different tack might be useful.

"I'll send you a picture of the boy." I leaned walked over to the window and snapped a picture of Evan and sent it to Bran. "Is it possible he's a child of hers from when she was human, cause I'm telling you there are similarities to the two of them. Or do you think this wolf kidnapped a child young that looks like he could be hers and changed him?"

"No, Abby has a soft spot for children. Doesn't even care if they are human, Fae, or other. If she took and changed a child she did so to save the child's life." I could hear Bran pull the phone away and click buttons to look at the picture.

Silence.

"Out of curiosity why are you so convinced Evan isn't her child. It's always possible she had him before she became a wolf." That seemed to snap Bran out of whatever he was thinking.

"His name is Evan?" There was something odd in Bran's voice. Something that had warning bells going off in my mind.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Bran muttered something in Welsh. The closest translation I could come up with was, 'unable' or 'not doing'. "Evan is the closest thing English has to her brother's name."

"Oh great, should we be looking for him too?"

"No, he is dead." There was a brief pause. "Abigail is missing. I think you need to start from the beginning."

"Funny I was thinking the same thing about you. Start with why you think Evan can't be this woman's son aside from the obvious she's a werewolf thing."

"Mercy."

"Bran." I knew I was asking for trouble by pushing Bran, but there was a scared child in my living who had felt his mother get shot. I was inclined to believe the kid even if I was sure he wasn't being completely honest. Then something occurred to me, Bran had said that Evan was the closest thing English has to her brother's name. Meaning the name didn't exist any more. Why did names change? Because languages change over years. I blinked. That's why he was so certain Evan couldn't be her son. Even immortality can't change the fact women are born with all the eggs they'll need in a lifetime. Jumping moons Batman. "How many centuries old is Abigail?"

Bran sighed, "I don't know how old she is."

"Is that cause there were no records from her time or because she just popped in existence ten years ago?"

"Ten years ago." Bran sounded extremely thoughtful now and that never bode well for me. There was gentle sound of keys clicking in the background. "Hmm, maybe."

"Maybe what?" I demanded.

"Just an errant thought." I could almost feel his full attention coming back to me. "Mercy I want you to listen very close to me. You and Adam will be sorely tempted to bring Abigail into your pack. You cannot do this."

"And why is that?"

"You remember the story of the pack that used to live in Texas?"

It sounded vaguely familiar. "They disappeared."

"They were all killed. They and everyone in the town they were in."

"You saying Abby killed them all?"

"No, I would have killed her if she had."

"But she's responsible for it?"

"She is as responsible for it as you are responsible for the separation of the Columbian Basin Pack from mine." Then he hung up.

As Ben would say, Fuck.


	5. Chapter 5

My trepidation grew until a sound brought me out of my morbid thoughts of something that could kill a whole pack of werewolves. A whole pack and the surrounding town, my brain kindly reminded me. I had to shove those thoughts aside to be able to pay attention to the sound. Relief flooded me when I realized it was Adam's car. Funny how my mate could still do that to me.

His SUV pulled into the driveway and he was out of the car even before the engine completely cut off. Adam's gaze found me, his eyes bright gold with his wolf. They faded back to his natural color as he and his wolf were assured that I was okay. "You alright?" His voice was soft even if it was tight from the stress of having his wolf rise.

"I'm not sure." I really didn't know. "I just had a very interesting chat with Bran about our missing wolf and her son."

"What did he say?"

So I explained what Bran said about Abigail; being careful to use his exact words. Then I told him what I had guessed about her age. Adam politely listened to everything I said without comment, his face not giving anything away. Finally I asked, "So, what's the plan?"

A slight smile pulled on his lips before it disappeared. "First, I need to talk to Evan, then maybe you can give Tony a call." He grinned. "Invite him for dinner. Then once we have more information we look for Evan's mom and whoever's after her."

"It might not have something do to do with Evan and his mom. From the sounds of it his mom might have just come home at the wrong time." Even as I said the words I felt that they were wrong. Evan and his mom had been running. Whatever they were running from had caught up and there was likely to be casualties of the innocent bystander kind.

"Maybe, but that doesn't feel right from what Bran told you."

"What did you think of what Bran said about bringing Abigail into the pack?"

Adam thought about it as we walked towards the front door. "It was very un Bran of Bran to say that. Curious though that he made no such comment about Evan." He paused and considered everything that we knew. "I think we need more information. Not just on Abigail, but the Texas pack that was wiped out too, and I think I know who we can ask."

"Who?"

"Warren."

I opened my mouth then closed it. I knew Warren had been a true cowboy, which put him in about two centuries or more. But I was also under the impression that Warren hadn't stayed with any pack for very long. Werewolves were not kind to wolves who were gay. Not to mention the fact that I was pretty sure that the pack that had been annihilated before Warren had been changed. So when I asked Adam, he shrugged.

"Warren never really talked about when and how he was changed. Most wolves don't because it's not something we want to remember."

Like how he and one of his war buddies had been turned during the Vietnam war. I nodded and opened the front door for him. He moved towards the living where Ben and Evan were still discussing the Marrock. Both of them paused when Adam entered the room.

"You must be Evan."

Evan stared wide eyed at my husband. There was no fear in his expression, it was something closer to awe. I sympathized with Evan, even I thought Adam was pretty impressive. Another little almost smile crossed Adam's face, so our mating bond must have allowed him to catch that particular thought.

"I'm Adam Hauptman, the alpha of the Columbian Basin Pack. Mercy told me what you told her and Ben. Would you be able to handle telling a police officer friend of ours what you told Ben and Mercy?"

Evan was quiet. He didn't nod right away like I half expected him to; like most people would have done if my husband addressed them. Instead, after a moment of thought he asked, "Is your friend a wolf?"

I glanced at Adam who shook his head no. "Tony is human. Why, does that matter?" Adam's voice was achingly gentle.

"Humans are fragile." Evan said that like it had been drilled into him for a long time. The look on his face said he did not want to hurt anyone, and he would feel responsible if Tony was hurt because of this.

"Tony is pretty smart for a human, but even if he wasn't we'd still protect him, and you. Do you believe me?"

This time Evan's nod was immediate.

"Alright, can you tell me your address, I will send a couple wolves over to get your things."

"My stuff is hidden behind a panel in the wall in the guest bedroom." Then he gave Adam his address, which was an old collection of apartments not far from train tracks. A poorer area, but being on the run didn't allow for much money.

Adam looked at me. We both shared a look of understanding. Why would Abigail hide or have Evan hide his things, unless she feared he'd be the next victim to what hunted her. I nodded to Adam and went into the kitchen to call Tony. He answered on the second ring.

"Mercy, what's up?" In the background I could hear sirens, police officers, and a train going by.

I winced and gave Tony Evan's address. "You wouldn't happen to be there, would you?"

I could hear Tony take a deep breath. "Do I want to know why you know that?"

"Probably not." I was careful to direct the conversation away from dangerous waters. The last thing we needed was the whole police department showing up on our front door. "You should join us for dinner, it's been a while since we last talked."

Tony grunted, but took the hint. "I'll be there shortly after I finish up here."

We hung up and I went back to the living room where Evan was talking to Adam about his mother. It seemed to help settled him to talk about his mother. Adam was able to coax details about her, but Evan couldn't remember any details about his father. When pressed he shrugged,

"I can't remember, and I stopped asking my mom because it hurt her to remember. She would tell me stories about him and then she'd cry when she thought I wasn't close enough to feel it." Feel not hear.

Adam caught his interesting turn of phrase too. "You feel her?"

Evan shrugged, "Don't you feel your pack?"

Adam nodded. "What do you feel from your mom now Evan?"

"I can't feel anything."

"Try, close your eyes and picture her in your mind." Adam soothed. "Build her image in your mind. All the little things that make your mother herself." We waited as Evan closed his eyes and pictured his mind. "Now feel yourself, feel how you are connected to your mother. Follow that bond to her. Tell us what you feel."

There was a short pause where Evan kept his eyes closed and only moved his fingers like he was pulling a fine thread. "Fear, fear blots out the pain. 'Must find him. Must find him before it's too late. Evan? Sweet boy you must let go. Tell the alpha to watch his pack, the shadow comes.' " Evan let out a shuddering breath and clutched his chest. "Momma!" Tears streamed from his eyes. Adam moved faster than I imagined scooping up Evan and cradling the boy against his chest and rocking him until the tears subsided. Evan fell asleep hiccupping in my husband's arms.

"What the flamin hell was that," Ben whispered.

Adam glared at Ben.

"Sorry, but what was that?"

"Pack bond."

"But he's a sub, he shouldn't be able to do that." Ben pointed out. "Only alpha's should be able to do that when it's not a full moon. We can't talk to each other over the bond, not from a distance. We can feel what others feel, but she talked through him. Even mates can't do that."

Adam chuckled. It was well known that our mating bond changed regularly and weirdly. He a raised an amused eyebrow at me and I shrugged. It's true.

"Did either of you notice Evan's scent?"

Ben and I blinked. I sniffed the air. It was faint, but there was an unfamiliar female scent. His mother and something else, something that smelt like werewolf but sharper. Evan, I realized, it was Evan's scent that had gotten sharper.

"Is he a werewolf," Ben asked. He seemed like he wasn't sure if that should matter or not.

Adam nodded. "Yes."

Before I could say anything there was a knock on the door. Evan jerked awake with a violent start. Adam soothed him and sat him back down on the couch next to Ben. Then he nodded at me to go answer the door. I went and glanced at my watch as I went. If it was Tony at the door than he must had sped all the way here.

It was indeed Tony standing on our front porch. His pitch black hair was slicked back and in a ponytail. Several small hoop earrings clung to his right ear. Tony was a handsome man who could pass as anything from eighteen year old to forty year old, as well as several different races. It made him a human chameleon. Today he wore a dark hoodie and thick working jeans. But no smile that I normally saw him wearing, today he was grim and smelled faintly of blood and death. Beside Tony was a gruff officer that I had first met when a volcano god stalked Adam's ex-wife, murdered a bunch of people, and burned down my shop; seriously. Officer Clay Willis was dressed in police formal wear same as the last time I had seen him. The smell of blood and death clung much stronger to Clay than Tony, as if he had been closer to whatever had happened or had stayed near it longer. But both men looked pale and worn in a way I hadn't seen.

"Come on in," I invited holding the door open.

Willis grunted and stepped in past me, while Tony stayed on the porch staring at me. Searching for something. After a brief pause he nodded to me and stepped inside the house. I lead them into the living room. Evan stiffened at the sight of the two men. Tony and Willis looked at Evan as if he were a gift from God. Both breathed sighs stark relief when they saw him. Willis even breathed under his breath, 'thank heavens'. Evan looked both men in the eyes then dropped his own.

"They're all dead, aren't they? The Parkers, the Gonzalez family, Mr. David, and the Hernandez family."

Oh my god. Horror washed through me. Was everyone on the same floor as Evan and his mother murdered. A glance at Tony showed that his face was carefully blank, while Willis' expression resembled stone. But it was Tony who finally answered. "We can't discuss an ongoing investigation. But we do need to ask you some questions. Is your mom around so we can ask you questions?"

Evan hung his head in grief and shame. His pain actually hit me, and then I realized everyone in the room felt it. Ben patted Evan on the back and Adam crouched protectively close to the boy. Tony and Willis both looked like they had been clubbed upside the head. This shouldn't be possible. Werewolves are more sensitive to emotions in the pack, and they can smell a wide range of emotion, but we shouldn't be able to feel someone outside the pack. Then the fact that two humans felt it too, whatever Evan was, he wasn't following the 'normal' rules of being a werewolf.

"What was that," rasped Willis.

Evan's fear sharpened then was gone. Just gone, kind of like how Bran hides his dominances. The kid shifted in his seat and looked very uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Evan mumbled, "I forget sometimes."

Tony looked at me questioningly. I shrugged.

"Evan is a werewolf, his mother is too."

Willis looked at all of us. "It wasn't a wolf that did this. Or at least not a wolf in wolf form. No indication that whoever is behind this was hunting a werewolf either."

"We didn't think a werewolf was behind this. From what Evan said there was blood split before he and his mother arrived home. His mom went in to check on their neighbors and it seems she was shot. Evan fled until he was found by one of our wolves. We believe his mother walked away from the encounter because there is video footage of her at Ben's work." As I explained, Ben handed Tony his phone with the picture of Abigail.

Tony took the phone, glanced at the picture, and flashed it to Willis. Willis' eyes scanned the picture quickly before he nodded in acknowledgement. The two of them exchanged a brief look before Willis grunted in affirmation and nodded to Tony.

"Normally we'd have to take Evan into protective custody." A smile briefly quirked up on his lips, lighting his eyes up for a moment. "But I'd say with a pack of werewolves is probably safer than anything we can manage." Tony's face darkened. "I have to warn you though. This was professionally done. Everyone was caught by surprise, even those who had multiple people living in the same apartment. One of the apartments was searched." Tony looked at Evan, and I knew it was his apartment that had been tossed. "It looks like the desktop was taken, and the filing cabinet was broken into, none of the paperwork was in there."

Evan perked up at this. "What about my mom's laptop?"

"We didn't find one," Willis told him gently.

"You wouldn't. Mom always hid it after she used it. She never left it out. The only way someone would know where it was is if they had a good sense of smell." He touched his nose with a wan smile on his face. "Or they knew it was there, or at least that's what mom said."

"Is there something on it that could make someone willing to hurt people?"

Evan shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. It was hers, the desktop is mine." Truth and yet there was a sense that Evan wasn't being entirely truthful.

"Do you know where your mom kept her laptop?"

Evan nodded sheepishly. "In the kitchen cabinet by the fridge the inside wall comes lose. Will this help you find who hurt my mom and the others?"

Tony answered choosing his words very carefully, "It is possible, it might have information on why someone would try to hurt your mother, but it might have nothing at all too."

I could have kissed Tony for how gentle and honest he was with Evan. A glance at Evan showed he wasn't thrilled with Tony's answer, but he seemed to except the truth in the statement.

"I know you told Mercy what happened, but do you think you can tell me what you saw and heard?"

Evan looked worn out, but he looked Tony in the eyes and seemed to understand that Tony would do everything in his power to see his mom safely returned to him. It was that realization; I think, that made Evan nod. He began from the very beginning when he returned from lessons. Willis seemed content to listen while Tony asked questions only when absolutely necessary. Once he was finished with his story both officers looked grim while Evan seemed lost.

"Ben, why don't you take Evan downstairs. Maybe he'd enjoy playing The Dread Pirate's Booty." Yes, werewolves love live-action-role-playing (LARP) as pirates. I find it a little ironic because werewolves can't swim, they're too dense. A small slightly spiteful part of me thought, in more than one way.

Adam's lips quirked up at the sides.

"What do you think, kid," Ben asked Evan.

Evan's eyes lit up immediately. "I have those games."

Ben lead Evan downstairs. Both of them already talking different strategies they liked to use and favorite deaths. I waited until I could hear the sounds of them playing before I turned back to Tony and Willis.

"There's more that you know, isn't there?"

I nodded. "I talked to a friend who knew his mom. There was an implication that whatever is hurting people is strong enough to take on werewolves. It only seems to kill those around her hence all the innocent bystanders. It is possible she's just been lucky, but I doubt it. The fact that Evan and his mom seem to have been hiding certainly points to something nasty is after her at least. They had a plan if something ever happened, otherwise I don't think a ten year old could handle all that's happened to him."

"Something clearly did happened," Willis pointed out.

Adam agreed grimly, "Yes, and since I'm assuming no one has been taken into custody, I respectfully ask that you keep information about Evan his mother under wraps."

"You think the person behind this might be after Evan specifically?"

Adam shrugged, "I have no clue, but I want him safe. No need to shout to the winds that he got away, is here, or who his family is. We have plenty of werewolves here to protect Evan, but there are too many questions that don't have satisfying answers. I will not put his fate to chance."

Tony glanced the way Evan had gone. "There is something else I think you should know. We didn't see any evidence that Evan lived in the apartment. The only reason we knew is because we found a picture of him with his mom tucked behind away behind a cabinet." He pulled a small evidence bag from his coat pocket and handed it to me. In the picture was Evan and his mom grinning up at me. This picture showed a clear resemblance between the two. I flipped the picture over to show Adam and noted the label on the back was from one of those photo booths you find at arcades or amusement parks. I handed the picture back to Tony who continued, "A woman from the upper level was able to tell us they were the occupants of the room that was trashed."

Adam listened thoughtfully and added carefully, "If you find his mother you might want to call me rather than approach her."

Willis stiffened indignantly. "We will do our jobs."

"This wolf was attacked, hurt, and forced to separate from her only pack." I told him. "She is a mother who has lost her son. She may not be in her right mind when you find her. Adam can make the difference between her talking peacefully and her reacting on instincts that are telling her to protect her pack." I added gently, "She is very likely a victim."

Willis grunted as if to say werewolves weren't likely to be victims. Tony however nodded, and I had to wonder if he was thinking of his own mother or a woman he was sweet for that a whole herd of kids.

"We won't approach her carelessly, but if she comes here we do need to speak with her."

Adam inclined his in agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

"Would it be alright if someone went and collected some of Evan's things? I'm sure he could tell you where his clothes are hidden." Abigail seemed intent on hiding her son. Then it occurred to me, Abigail survived an attack that wiped out an entire pack. Lucky, or was there more to it? Why, work so hard to hide Evan even more so than herself? Unless what was after them would only kill those around her. A chilling thought. I rubbed my arms and got up and went to the kitchen, letting Adam hammer out the details with Tony. I heard the soft rumble of a car and walked over to the window to see a familiar car driving down the our street. Darryl.

I walked outside and waited on the front porch for the car to pull into the driveway. Once the 67 silver mustang pulled in beside my husband's SUV, the passenger and drive side doors popped open. Darryl walked around the car and waited for the passenger to get out. Darryl is a beautiful blend of his two parents cultures, African and Chinese. And at six feet tall he easily dwarfed Aiden walked who beside Darryl. Both of them saw Tony's car and were instantly wary of what that could mean. Something in my expression must have given things away.

"No one we know is dead, but sh-," he corrected himself, "stuff has hit the fan?"

I snorted, wasn't that just the story of our lives. "We have a new werewolf."

Darryl's eyebrows rose in question, "What happened?"

I sighed and tried very hard to shove my fear down with anger. No need to have everyone worrying just yet. "He's very young and rattled, but he is a sub and I believe he is currently down stairs with Ben."

Darryl is a smart man, and he took in all the things I didn't say. The wolf was scared, and could probably use a friend who was closer to his own age, at least in appearance. He nodded to Aiden, "Why don't you help the new wolf beat the Sodden Bard."

Aiden grinned. He may not like being treated as a child, but he did like winning. "Alright." Then he rushed past me with a quick hi and bye.

Darryl waited until Aiden was well out of hearing range before he said, "That doesn't explain why Tony and the other officer is here."

No it didn't, so I explained everything, Evan, his age, how he had come to us, and what Bran had said. Once I finished Darryl whistled low.

"You don't do things by halves, do you?"

"Hey, this isn't my fault. Ben is the one who found him, not me."

Darryl grinned and patted my shoulder after successfully baiting me. "I know. So you think this wolf is a victim too?"

I thought about it and nodded. "Something is after her, Something that didn't mind killing a whole lot of innocent bystanders in the process. Both this time and two hundred years ago. This time she reacted to protect her son, but still kept her head. Not many wolves would be sane enough to fight someone who invaded their territory and attacked their pack. Which clearly this wolf managed, otherwise there would have been evidence of a wolf at the crime scene."

"Have you talked to Warren yet?"

"No, he's on Jess duty." And wouldn't my step daughter be thrilled to hear it phrased like that. "They should actually be back pretty," I cut off that thought as Warren's vehicle came bumping down our dead end street. "Speaking of Warren."

"You want me to talk to him?"

I bit my lip. Warren and Darryl got along much better than they originally had, but I had little doubt this was going to go into personal territory and I wasn't entirely sure Darryl wouldn't push too much. And that could lead to a bloody fight."No. Talk to Adam. I'm sure he's going to want to have a pack meeting once Tony is gone."

Darryl grunted and went inside to speak with Adam and probably Tony too. I waited where I was as Warren pulled in beside Darryl's car. Jess actually bounced out of the passenger seat. Her short blue hair flopping in and out of her face as she walked over to me.

"Hey Mercy." As she past Tony's car she asked, "Why is Tony here?" There was no fear in her voice, but there was concern. Despite everything that had happened to us she was surprisingly optimistic.

"You know, werewolf stuff. There's a new wolf in the basement."

She raised her bag. "No worries, I've got homework." She walked inside without a backwards glance.

"And you waited out here just to tell her that?" Warren's Texas accent gave his words a slight twang.

"No, I wanted to ask what you know about the pack that was killed in Texas two hundred years ago."

Warren's eyebrows shot up, whatever he had expected me to say, it hadn't been that. His eyes seemed to like shutters had closed behind them. "Alright, I'll bite, why?"

So I explained what I knew so far, and what I guessed. After I finished I couldn't help but think that had been saying this story a lot. Warren was silent for a long time, as if he needed to digest what I told him. Finally he sighed.

"The pack that was wiped out was my first pack. However, I'm not sure I can be of much help in this case." He looked uncomfortable. "I was," he sighed again. "I was kicked out a couple months before the pack was killed."

'Kicked out' meaning the pack had hunted him, most likely because he was gay. Anger bubbled up making me clench my fists. A small instinct in me whispered, mine, my pack, will protect. Then I saw Warren smile as he put a hand on my shoulder. Right, anger has a scent.

"It was a long time ago." And I have good people now.

I let out a breath and hopefully my anger with it. "Part of me is glad their dead." Nope, anger was still there, even if I felt mildly bad about the admitting that.

Warren chuckled. "They weren't all bad. The wolf who turned me was a good woman."

"A female changed you?"

"Yeah," he thought about it before saying, "You know, I'm not certain she was part of a pack. We joined that one together. I think she did it to make sure I had a pack."

I froze, it couldn't be. "What was her name?"

"Cat, if you can believe it."

That didn't mean anything, I knew as well as anyone that old wolves changed their names after a time. "What did she look like?"

"Like a woman."

I gave him a look.

"What does it matter Mercy? She died with the rest of them. Bran said your wolf indirectly caused the deaths of everyone in the pack. But the only thing that Cat did that would put her on anyone's bad list was protect me." He sucked in a deep breath. "When they came for me, she ran ahead. She was always fast and strong. Cat held off the pack while I." He didn't finish his sentence, and it didn't take a good sense of smell or even good people skills to tell that he was ashamed he had left Cat to face the wrath of the pack. "She said she was Omega so they wouldn't kill her, but she still died with the rest of them."

He had gone back, I realized. Warren had known that something had happened and returned, probably to find bodies. "I'm sorry to bring up painful memories."

Warren gave a half-hearted chuckle. And drawled in his thick Texas accent. "I'll live." Truth, but there was still a dimness in his eyes. A scar that still hadn't quite healed, even after two hundred years.

Together we headed inside where Tony and officer Willis were saying their goodbyes to Adam and Darryl. Willis brushed past me quickly, eager to be out of a house full of werewolves. Tony on the other hand stopped in front of me. There was something close to regret in his eyes. "Take care, Mercy, and be careful." There was an unsaid, 'I don't want to visit you in the hospital again' in his eyes.

I grinned. "Careful is my middle name." This is one of those times when a lie; even if everyone knows it is one, is good because someone would take the bait.

"I thought your middle name was Athena," Warren mused out loud.

I grumbled mockingly, "And the horse you rode in on."

Both Tony and Warren smiled, both seemed a little lighter.

"I'll bring by Evan's things tomorrow morning," Tony promised then followed after Willis. Everyone waited until Tony's car started.

"What's the call Boss," Darryl asked.

"Call in the troops. I want everyone on look out."


	7. Chapter 7

It took less than two hours for all the pack to be called in as well as enough pizza to feed a little league championship. Several of the wolves sniffed the air and glanced curiously at the basement door. Warren or Darryl quickly directed the most curious to the meeting room where most of the pizza was being devoured. Adam stood patiently at the front of the room while everyone else settled into the dozens of folding chairs that had been brought out for such occasions. I sat near the front and off to the right side and waited.

Once everyone was seated Adam began, "I'm sure most of you have realized why I called this meeting. We have a new wolf."

There were several grunts, and more than a few whispered conversations. All of which were silenced when Adam spoke again.

"You may ask why I have called this meeting before bringing him into the pack, and that is because Evan has very unusual circumstances. Even by our standards." Wasn't that a subtle way of saying fire dogs were not normal. There were several chuckles, and I felt the weight of several eyes on my back. "Evan is ten years old."

Every wolf here gasped.

"As best as we can figure he's been a wolf since before he was ten. Him and his mother were attacked as well as everyone on their floor of the apartment they live in." There were angry growls. No one here would stand for a child being attacked. "Evan was separated from his mother and found Ben. It seems very likely that whatever attacked all these people is after Evan and his mother."

"Is she here?" Is she safe, was the unsaid question in Alec's voice.

"We don't know where she is."

The murmurings spread like wildfire.

A wolf near the back; George, stood. "What do we know about what or who attacked them?"

Adam nodded acknowledging George's question. "According to Evan there were three human male scents he did not recognize, as well as the presence of magic."

"Three humans against a wolf, and the fight is still in favor of the wolf. The magic could throw a major wrench in the wolf's odds depending on what kind and what the purpose was," Mary Joe mused out loud.

Adam grunted his agreement. "From what Tony has said, we can assume that these men armed with guns, silencers. They managed to enter several apartments with more than one person present and kill everyone with no one noticing or fighting back."

"So, not your normal hired guns."

"Yes. They also searched Evan's home. Which means they were looking for something." Adam reached into his pocket and pulled the copy of the picture of Evan's mom. He gave it to Darryl. "I want everyone to be on the lookout for her and any wolf you don't recognize."

Darryl looked at the picture then passed it to Auriele.

"I need volunteers to guard those in the pack who are the most vulnerable." At those words I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and sigh, most of the pack was trying very hard not to look at me. It was Ben who actually saved me from say something.

"I've called work and let them know I'll be working from home for a while. I'll keep an eye on Evan. It seems he'd probably be most comfortable with me."

Several wolves gaze swung towards Ben and soft growls slithered through the air. Many still didn't think much of Ben, but Ben stared down the room. No one challenged him further.

"Thank you Ben. How is Evan?"

"Nervous as he-," he corrected himself "Heck. Never been around so many wolves." Ben went over to the boxes of pizza and piled the last four slices onto a paper plate. "Do you want me to bring him up here to meet everyone after he gets something to eat?"

"Only if he's up to it."

Ben nodded and left with the pizza. After he was gone there were several people who jumped to offer to watch over Jess, Lucia, Aidan, Evan, and surprisingly me. In the end, Warren agreed to watch over me; apparently there weren't any nasty divorces for Kyle to manage. While three wolves would alternate taking Jess to school and picking her up, and six different wolves would alternate watching over the house; not including Ben who said he set up camp in the basement.

Once that was settled Adam cleared his throat, "I also want a check in system, I want a call from everyone every few hours. I don't care how tired you are, it is possible that whatever, whoever is behind this took out a wolf pack once already. So I will not be taking any chances."

There was some grumbling, but for the most part everyone knew this was to protect the pack. Adam waited for everyone to settle back before he asked, "Are there any other questions?"

Several pack members stood. Each one Adam answered in turn, even if it spawned more questions. Then once everyone was satisfied my husband dismissed them. A few wolves got up and left after they said their good-byes, but most of the wolves stayed and milled about the upstairs. It took me a minute to realize they were waiting to meet Evan. They were all very pointedly not looking at the basement door. At least they weren't until there was a small gasp from the basement door.

Ben stood on the top step with Evan trying very hard not to hide behind him. The boy's eyes were the size of saucers again, and the smell of his anxiety was starting to make the more dominant wolves twitchy. In the world of werewolves, the more dominant you are the more you wish to protect those who are weaker than you; usually. Evan being a child, a submissive, and afraid was hitting every wolf's protect button very hard.

"Evan," my husband's voice was soft, but it seemed to silence every other sound in the room. "You are safe here."

Evan peeked out from behind Ben, his hand started to rise like he was going to grab Ben's hand, but he dropped it back down to his side. He nodded once, a stiff jerky motion the betrayed the tension in him as much as the smell of his emotions did.

"This is my family." Adam gestured to the pack around him. "We have the power to keep you and your mother safe."

Several people nodded while others muttered their agreement.

"Would you like to meet them?"

Evan stared at my husband while the pack seemed to collectively holding its breath. Finally after a glance around the room, he nodded once, and wrapped his hand around Ben's fingers.

The pack didn't immediately jump and start talking all at once, and I was grateful for that. I doubted either Ben or Evan could have handled that much of the pack at once. First it was the females of our pack. Honey, Mary Jo, and Auriele. They introduced themselves and Evan nodded giving his own name and a slight half bow to each of them. Slowly the rest of the pack filtered over to Evan all introducing themselves before heading out, many of them welcomed him too. By the time midnight rolled around everyone had left.

"Did well kiddo," Ben patted Evan on the head. "Now go to bed."

Evan nodded wearily, and trudged down stairs to sleep in the holding cell. Ben stood at the top of the stairs watching him before turning to his Alpha. "No worries, no one will f-" he cleared his throat. "fudging touch him."

Adam grunted his agreement.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning I woke to the sound of a car pulling into our driveway. Adam immediately threw the covers off himself and checked the window.

"It's Tony."

I rolled over and looked at the clock; six A.M flashed at me. "I know he said he would drop off Evan's stuff, but this is a lot earlier than I expected."

Adam grabbed a his shirts from the dresser and then tossed me one of his T-shirts. Without comment I put on the too large t-shirt, flounced out of bed, slipped into a pair of sweat pants, and then after him. We were half-way down the steps when Tony knocked on the door. Adam went to answer the door while I went and made some hot chocolate for me; the good hot chocolate, and coffee for my husband.

Adam came back with Tony following behind him. Tony had dark circles under his eyes, he was in the same clothes as yesterday, and he had a duffle bag thrown over his shoulder. Then I smelt him; anxiety, and undertones of fear. Something had scared him real bad, but not within the last few hours. The smell of fear was fading. Tony looked me up and down, and noted Adam's t-shirt and my sweat pants.

"Sorry for waking you guys."

I waved him off. "At least we slept, can you say the same thing?"

"No, I can't." He shuddered and his fear sharpened.

I resisted the urge to ask what had scared him. Instead I offered, "Hot chocolate? It's the good kind."

A wane smile spread across his face. "Sure." He placed the duffle bag down and then reached into his pocket. Tony pulled out a small flash drive and placed it on the counter between us. "Willis wanted me to show you this. We found it on Abigail's computer."

Adam looked at it briefly before he heading up to his office to grab his laptop. The first hot chocolate was finished before he got back so I passed it to Tony. He took the cup gratefully and just stared into it.

"What's up, Tony? Why did you stay up all night?"

He flinched at my question.

"It doesn't take a genius to see it, you're in the same clothes you wore yesterday," I told him gently. "And like Adam, you have a need to figure out how to keep everyone safe. Though you're a little bit more low key about it." If Tony had been a wolf I had not doubts he'd be an alpha, and from what Evan had said about his neighbors I was fairly certain one of the families reminded him of the Sandovals.

The smell of Tony's agitation sharpened ever so slightly and the tang of fear came with it. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair. Finally he admitted, "Last night I went back to Evan's to get his things," he nodded to the duffle bag on the floor. "When I got there the crime scene tape had been cut." Tony's eyes gazed over a little and his fear sharpened almost visibly. "I went in and someone was standing in the center of the apartment. When I asked him to state his business he turned and looked at me. His eyes were all I could see," quieter he muttered to himself, "All I can remember is his eyes." Then his voice returned to normal. "His eyes glowed in the darkness and asked where _she_ was." Tony shuddered. "I didn't know who she was and I felt compelled to him that. Then next thing I knew I was alone." His hands shook.

Adam came back in the room with his laptop under his arm. His nostrils flared trying to catch any scent that may have lingered on Tony's clothes. I didn't catch anything, but from the look on Adam's face he smelled something. "Dominate. You faced a dominate wolf, and judging by your reaction I'd say he managed to affect your perception of him."

"That's what that was?" Tony forced himself to swallow. "Can you do that?" He made a visible effort to put aside his fear and was only mildly successful.

Adam watched Tony for a long time before answering. "You can do it to a lesser extent too." Tony winced and Adam continued without reacting, "Being a werewolf doesn't change that in people. It makes them more aware of where they stand in relationship with others, and magic just amplifies what is already there. To answer your question, I'm not sure. I've never used to force an answer from someone. Wolf's have little need as they can typically tell when people are lying. Could I use it to make you do something you didn't want to or see things that differently than they are? No, I didn't think that was possible without some other kind of magic." Adam pushed the laptop to Tony then took a step back and sat down so as not to crowd Tony. It also allowed Tony to calm his fears looking for the flash drive.

After a few seconds Tony managed to get the flash drive open and warned us, "Only Willis and I saw this." Then he turned the laptop toward us.

The first thing I saw, was what looked like a sketch of Adam. Below that was a hand written paragraph. I could even begin to tell what it said. The words looked like a strange mix of several old European languages. Adam scrolled down and there was another sketch and paragraph, this one was of me. Then came Darryl, Warren, so on until I realized the whole pack was here, even those who weren't outted as werewolves. We scrolled until we reached the bottom. Thankfully, there was no picture of Jess, I was pretty sure Adam would have lost it if there had been.

"You are sure no one else knows?" My husband's voice was dangerously low.

"Yeah, only me and Willis saw it. Dou you know what it says?" Tony nodded towards one of the paragraphs.

"No, But I have ways of finding out." Adam took a deep breath then asked, "Do you trust Willis not to use this information to harm us or give it to those who would?"

Tony understood the gravity of what Adam was asking, and he didn't hesitate to answer, "It's true Willis doesn't like werewolves and Fae, but his grandfather died in internment camps in Germany, while his grandmother was permanently scarred. He does not care for people who make lists of other people' names like this." There was nothing but truth in his words. The tension eased up like a someone letting the air out of a balloon.

Adam took a deep breath and muttered, "Sorry." He grit his teeth and did his best to control his wolf which had risen to the surface. "And I take the two of you don't have any clues as to what this says either." I recognized the question as Adam needing to be sure that there wasn't more information.

Tony gave a half-hearted smile. "I can speak two languages, but this is beyond me, and I don't think Willis knows how to say, 'hello' in Spanish, much less whatever this is." He gestured to the laptop. "I won't risk taking this to someone else, not after what happened with Cantrip."

I winced at the memory. A while back almost the entire pack had been kidnapped by rogue Cantrip agents- FBI for all the things that go bump in the night- and we had lost one of our pack members. What I had also let Tony know was that the Sandovals had also been on their hit list, all of them. So, Tony had more than a little experience with people making lists of names and liked it about as much as we did.

"Is there anyone you guys trust to take this to?"

I thought about Tony's question. At first I considered Zee, but I discarded the thought. Zee knew most of our wolves and I trusted him, but this would be a favor and he was still Fae. Then I thought of Bran. "I might know someone." I grabbed my phone from my purse and dialed Bran's number. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message. Then I stared at it willing it to ring. No surprise, it didn't.

"We have a few people we might be able to tell us what it says," Adam told Tony. "Would it be possible to leave this here with us?"

Tony nodded wearily. "Just let me know if you find anything."

"We will. Go home and rest." I could feel the subtle push Adam gave with the words.

Tony nodded and waved as he headed for the door. Then he stopped at the doorway. "What about Evan?"

I blinked. "What about him?"

"Do you think that his mom would have taught him how to read and write in this language? A lot of times it is mother's who teach their children about their heritage."

I looked at Adam and saw that he hadn't even considered it. "We will ask when he wakes up."

I could feel Tony hesitate at the door and finally he left.


	9. Chapter 9

We waited for the sound of Tony's car starting up, then we glanced at each other.

"Do you think Evan has seen this?" Adam asked in a hushed tone.

I shrugged, "We can ask. We can even ask if he knows what it says. I feel like he might not. This strikes me as something Abigail had made." I ran my hand through the ends of my hair. "Though I can't think of why. Why would someone on the run have a list of our pack? How does this other wolf in Abigail's house play into everything?"

"You think the new wolf might be connected to what is chasing Abigail and her son?"

I shook my head slowly. "No, I think that wolf has something to do with Abigail, but I don't think he has anything to do with Evan. Tony said he asked, 'Where is _she,'_ not they. But one wolf can't take down an entire pack, no matter how dominate they are." More than anything I wanted to cling to that thought, but my mind reminded uneasily of Bran. And a story of a dead forest that nothing else lived in but a monstrous wolf. If there was one, there could be another.

"I don't know," Adam told me. Down our mating bond I could feel both man and wolf were in agreement that they didn't like any of this, especially not knowing.

I opened my mouth to tease him when my phone rang. "Maybe Bran decided to call me back with answers."

It wasn't Bran. It was Tad.

"Hey Mercy." Tad's pleasant voice came through my phone. "You've got a package at the shop."

"You called just to tell me I got a package at the shop?" I asked skeptically. Tad knew I be there in another twenty to thirty minutes.

"Nope. I called to tell you, you got a package that has something old and magical in it. Also to ask where you got something magical because there is no return address."

"Is it dangerous?"

I could practically hear him shrug. "I don't know. Dad is trying to figure that out now. He thinks probably not, but it's hard to tell without opening it up, seeing what exactly it is, and getting his hands on it." There was a short pause. "Can we open it?"

I looked at Adam and raised my eyebrows.

"How sure are you that the magic in it won't hurt you or Mercy, Tad?"

"Hey Adam! Given the way magic works around Mercy, our best guess is it wouldn't her. It doesn't seem like it will hurt us either, but I wouldn't necessarily trust it around you though, Adam."

"Why?" My husband asked.

"Whatever it is, it is made of silver and has some hella strong magic worked on it."

"What kind of magic is it?"

"Fae." Tad responded instantly, but then hesitated and amended, "Mostly Fae."

"You're not sure?"

We could hear Zee's grunt and when he made a so-so sound.

"Would you trust Zee to keep whatever magic is in that from harming you guys or others?"

It wasn't hard to hear Zee's gruff response in German, old German. Adam had really insulted him. A wary smile spread across my husband's face.

"I had to ask, Zee."

"You guys can go ahead and open it," I told Tad. Then to Adam I said, " It might be a worth checking security cameras at the shop to see who dropped it off." Then I realized he was already on the laptop doing just that. While on the phone I heard Tad open the box- from the sound of it- and grunt when he finally revealed the contents. Zee murmured something in German that I couldn't quite catch, but it sounded like he was cooing happily.

"There is a knife in here; that's what was enchanted. Dad's thrilled. And there is also a large file." There was a pause where I heard paper shuffle and the pause became longer and more pronounced sending my instincts stirring. "Mercy, who's child do you have?"

I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to rub my temples. "What does it say?"

"There's a note attached that says, 'Please take care of my son, and beware the Shadow.' That's a capital letter S." I heard more papers shuffling. "The file is everything from a birth certificate to report cards and medical records for one Evan Williams." There was a question in Tad's voice.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "We had a werewolf come to us after his mother was attacked. His mom made a mention of the 'shadow' when she spoke to us briefly." If that's what you'd call what happened.

Tad clicked his tongue in thought. "So she left her son in your care and then dropped off a package with all his information, a magical knife, and a note asking you to protect him." There was a note of suspicion in his voice. Before I could even think to respond Zee yelped in what I assumed was surprise.

"Da?"

Zee's response was a far away so I couldn't hear all of it, but it sounded like he said he was fine.

"What happened?" Adam and I asked.

Tad grunted. "Dad said the knife gave him a warning. It's one of his, but he doesn't remember making it." There was a sound of Zee taking the phone from Tad then his gruff voice came across the line.

"Liebling, I remember making this blade just fine. What I said is that I don't remember making it all. Another Fae helped make it, I believe to protect her child. The blade is old and thus has a mind of its own. It warned me that she was meant for 'she who is not me'. So I believe the magic in this will help you as long as you protect the child you have and it might be like the walking stick."

"So why hasn't it appeared in the house?"

"It doesn't know you yet. You haven't touched it."

"So it won't hurt me?"

"Not unless you abandon the child, then it could turn on you or someone close to you. "

"Well I guess there's no problem them." I glanced at Adam who had an almost ironic smile. I wondered which time he was thinking of. The time I went against Bran to save Jess, or the time I went up against a vampire for the bravest little boy ever, or the time I pit our pack against all Fae for a fire-touched boy. I watched as Adam's smile turned to a frown as something happened on his laptop. Then he turned his laptop towards me. It was the view outside my shop during the day. At first I couldn't see what Adam was showing me until it looked like a piece of the ground was sliding towards the fence. Once it moved closer I realized it was a wolf. It's fur was a mixture of pale colors that blended against the desert almost perfectly. Once it reached the fence, it was clear that it was a werewolf. Not only did its size give it away, but also the graceful leap it made over an eight foot metal fence. Then it became clear that it was also carrying a plain brown package wrapped in twine. This, the werewolf deposited on the front door, before glancing up at the camera and bowing.

"Mercy?" Tad asked.

"Sorry, Adam was showing me the wolf who dropped off the package."

"I take it the wolf came right over the fence and up to the front door?"

"Yeah," unease moved through me. "Why?"

"There is a guy outside the shop who is kneeling in the dirt. It looks like he is touching a print."

"Hide those papers." I could hear Tad carefully packing the box away behind the desk. I could hear the bell from the door. But I couldn't quite make out what the person said, but I could hear Tad perfectly.

"I'm sorry sir, I've never seen that woman. If you are looking for someone I can give you directions to the police station."

There was another grumbled reply. Then the bell rang again. After a moment Tad picked the phone back up and said, "Mercy. I can't remember what that man looked like. Da can't either."

Adam was already working through the video feed. He got to the video pulled up and watched it with a frown on his face. I watched over his shoulder as the man stepped into the shop. It was like his face was wreathed in shadow. In the back of my mind I heard Abigail's words in her son's voice, 'Tell the alpha to watch his pack, the shadow comes'. It seemed that the _shadow_ had indeed come.

"It would have been nice if he could have at least shown his face to the camera."

"Who showed their face?"

I winced, and remembered that having heightened senses was only good if I used them. Then I turned to Evan who had just come up the stairs. He looked at the computer between Adam and I. He frowned at the image on the screen.

"Who is that?" There was nothing but truth in his voice.

"Someone who visited my shop." I saw no reason to lie to him, but I also had no proof that the man in the video was the _Shadow_ that Abigail was so worried about. "You wouldn't happen to recognize him, would you?"

Evan gazed at the picture, but shook his head no. "He doesn't look like anyone I've met."


	10. Chapter 10

There was no lie in either his voice or eyes. But his gaze did linger on the collection of pictures of the pack that was still open beside the video. I watched Evan stare at the pictures for a moment before I reached across Adam and maximized the page. Adam stiffened beside me, but let me continue. I pointed to the words below Adam's picture.

"You wouldn't happen to know what these say, would you Evan?"

He didn't even bother to look at the words themselves. He simply nodded. "It's the description of the wolf. Color, size, things like that. Why do you have my flash cards?"

Adam and I just stared at him. Neither of us was entirely sure what to say to this at first. It wasn't until we were silent for a while did Evan's expression get confused.

"Did I do something wrong?" There was disappointment and a touch of fear to that question.

Adam was quick to reassure him he hadn't done anything wrong. Then asked, "Evan why do you have flash cards of the pack?" He deliberately included Evan in the pack.

"Mom had me memorize everyone in case I got separated from her. She said she wanted me to know both man and wolf so I could recognize one of the pack and know I was safe. She said if a different wolf approached I was to try and leave and find someone from the flash cards."

Adam and I exchanged looks. Then Adam leaned down and asked gently, "Do you know where your mom got the flash cards?"

Evan grinned with pride. "She made them. She can make stuff and tells good stories." Then his mood turned somber as he remembered everything from the previous day. "Did you find her?"

"We haven't found her, but we think she is hiding out while she gets better. However, Tony came by with your stuff." Adam grabbed the bag from off the table and held it out to Evan.

He looked at it with no small amount of happiness and relief. He took it from Adam and held it with one hand despite the bag being easily almost his same height. Then he pulled it open and rummaged through it until he pulled a collection of clothes that looked like they had been wrapped around hard objects. Greedily, Evan unwrapped them to reveal a small collection of painted wooden figurines. The first was a dragon, which was a pale green color. The dragon was soon followed by a collection of werewolves, all of which had different coats. Then there was a creature that looked like a werewolf that way half way between wolf and human. The last two were humans. One was a pale boy with scraggly hair while the other was man with some features that made him look like he could have been Evan's much older brother.

Evan brought all the figures over to the counter and lined them up. It was clear the a very gifted hand had fashioned and painted them. "Mom made these for me. She said they were our family, so I should know them."

Adam sat and listened to Evan as he pointed and named each creature. They paused just long enough for me to ask if they wanted pancakes, which of course they did. Pancakes were one of the few breakfast foods that were easy to make and very filling, so it was a staple in a house of werewolves. I got to work making food and was most of the way done with the first batch when I heard a truck pull into the driveway. I paused to listen and after a few seconds realized it was Warren. The man himself came in a few minutes later with a grin on his face.

"Morin' Boss, morin' Mercy. Something smells good." Then he saw Evan and smile got even bigger. "Morin' kiddo. Whatcha got there?"

Evan excitedly babbled everything he had just finished telling Adam. I brought the full stack of pancakes over to the table along with six plates to the table. Warren walked with Evan to the table. All the figures were gathered up in his arms before he dumped them and then rearranged them across the table in between Warren and himself. I noticed Warren was looking at the dragon thoughtfully almost like he recognized it. But it was gone as butter and syrup was passed around.

After two more batches had been devoured Warren looked up at me and it seemed he just then realized I was wearing Adam's shirt. He did his best not to chuckle. "So I take it you'll want a minute to change before we leave?"

I looked down at the shirt and sweat pants I wore then looked back at Warren with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Are you saying there's something wrong with my clothes."

Warren chuckled. "My momma raised no fool. I'd never question anyone's choice of clothin." The amusement in his eyes made me wonder what choice of clothing Kyle had worn to put that much amusement in Warren's eyes. "Besides darlin', you're your own boss, you can wear whatever you want to work. However I'm sure the Boss-man might want his clothes back unscathed."

Adam chuckled now too. "Mercy can do what she likes with my clothes."

I smirked because that statement gave me too much power. "So if I were to get rid of all but your clothes except-" Then I realized Evan was listening very expectantly to what I going to say and changed my answer mid-sentence. "pants. You'd go around in just those?"

Adam chuckled again, this one was deeper and huskier than the last. He knew damn well what I'd been about to say, and the light in his eyes had goose bumps going down my back. "Go get dressed before Zee calls to demand where you are."

I flounced out of the chair with my nose up in mock snootiness. "I am my own boss, and it's Saturday. I can go in when I want." But I belied those words by heading upstairs to change with the three of them laughing at my retreating back. Even I couldn't help the grin on my own face. On the other hand, I thought, he didn't say no. I seriously debated stealing all his shirts the entire time I was getting dressed. When I came back down, Darryl was manning the two griddles and had a whole other stack of pancakes going. While Ben was sitting at the table with Evan who was once again talking about his toys in great detail.

Warren saw me and asked, "Ready?"

"Yep." I said good-bye to everyone else and left with Warren striding beside me. We both got into my Vagoon and made it to the shop without incident. From the cars that were rearranged in the back lot, it looked like Zee and Tad had gotten a really early start on the cars that were all still awaiting my attention. Warren and I went into the front office to see Tad. Not even two full steps in Tad looked at me and pushed a knife across the counter to me.

The weapon was easily sixteen inches long from the top of the hilt to the tip of the blade. The handle looked like it was made of bone while the sheath was made of a battered dark brown leather. The sheath looked like it had been modified fairly recently so it could be worn on a belt or even strapped to someone's leg. Several straps came off of it. Each one was the same color as the sheath, but the leather was newer and smelled faintly of werewolf.

"Go ahead and pull it out. It's very... excited to meet you."

It was Tad's choice of words that made me more wary of it. I knew enough about items that were Fae in origin, magical, and old thanks to a fairy tale book; made by a Fae about Fae. Generally speaking, any item that was all three of those things was best left alone and untouched. However, this blade felt similar to the walking stick I had once had. Or at least how it felt before I had quenched in the blood of the River Devil; not my name for it.

The blade hummed as if reminding me I still hadn't said hello to it. Cautiously, I touched the hilt, that I was suddenly very sure was bone. Smooth bone warmed against my skin and gave me the sensation of satisfaction as well as purring. Though the knife neither moved nor made a sound.

"What's with the knife?" Warren asked from behind me. I had actually forgotten he was there. "Are you going to just hold it or take it out?"

I nodded and pulled the leather sheath down. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting but it certainly not what I found. Like Tad had said the blade was silver, but somehow the blade shone like a mirror. The whole thing was completely devoid of tarnished or dirt. Seeing my reflection in the blade was a little startling. Maybe that was partially because it was my reflection followed by bone, almost as if my face had erupted from it. Then suddenly there was a weird sensation that felt like my fingers were shocked. But instead of hurting it felt more like laughter, as if the knife was very happy with me.

Tad eyed the blade. "She likes you a lot."

Warren looked between the two of us . "I feel like I missed something."

Tad smiled at him in his usual cheery manner and with that same smile said, " A woman left the this knife here for Mercy to use to protect the woman's son from the _Shadow_." He said it with proper emphasis on the Shadow. "Then a man came in looking for whom I assume was that very same woman ad he used some kind of strange magic to prevent me and my father from remembering his face."

Warren looked at Tad for a moment then he swore. It was a sentiment I whole-heartedly agreed with.

Zee came into the front office and grumbled about people standing around when there was work to be done. I took that as my queue and slid the knife back into its sheath. I almost left it there except I got the feeling the blade would sneak its way back to me. It took only a second to strap the weapon to my leg, and I could have sworn I heard it chuckle in satisfaction.

"Mercy, I'll wait out here with Tad." Warren called after me.

Tad looked mildly offended. "I don't need a baby-sitter."

Warren smiled. "Mercy says the same thing. But before you get upset, keep in mind I remember you taking on a volcano god. I know who to hide behind."

Tad grinned.


End file.
